Water-heater.



F. J. ALBRECHT.

WATER HEATER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 4. 1915. 1,169,224., Patented Jan. 25, 1916.

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ass Parser raise FRANCIS J. ALBRECHT, or PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

WATER-HEATER.

To all whom it mag concern Be it known that I, Fnaivcis J. ALBRECHT, residing at Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, a citizen of the United States, have invented ordiscovered certain new and useful improvements in Vfater-l'leaters, ofwhich improvements the following is a specification,

My invention relates to water heaters, and its objects are, first, to improve the general construction and operation of such'heaters, and secondly, to provide a heater whereby hot water or steam may be supplied. at will.

Although not limited to any specific purpose, my invention is particularly useful in bakeries, where, for example, it is desirable from time to time to let steam into an oven, and at other times to have hot water for various purposes. y

In the accompanying sheet of drawings, which forms part of my specification, I have illustrated the preferred form of my invention.

Figure 1 is a vertical central sectional view of the heater; Fig. 2 a similar view to enlarged scale of the supply pipes and controlling and regulating instrumentalities for them, the plane of view being indicated by the line II1I, Fig. l; and Figs. 3, 4 and 5 sectional views takenon the lines III-J11, lVIV and V V, respectively, of Fig. 2.

In the several figures like numerals are used to designate like parts. a

The heater may be of the usual form comprising a cylindrical casing 1 made, of sheet metal with an asbestos lining, a fluid-fuel burner 2 and a heating coil abovethe burner. While, as far as some features of my inven tion are concerned, the coil may be of any suitable form or construction, as shown here in it comprises inner conically-shaped portions 3 and 3, and outer conically-shaped portions i and l concentric with the inner portions. As will be seen, the vertices of these coil portions are adjacent to each other, the ad acent helices are separated, and at the vertices of the coil portions there is a transverselycxtending bafiie plate 26, the combined result of these several features of construction being that the burning fuel or of combustion flow in the manner indicated by the arrows and thereby heats'alt portions of the coils.

To obtain the most efficient heating effect of the coil, the water supply pipe 5 is attached to the upper end of one of the coil p j I specification of Letters Eaten;

Application filed. May 4, 1915.

Patented Jan. 25, 12916.

SerialNo. 25,769.

portions, in this instance the portion 4, and the outlet pipe 6 is attached to the upper end of the innercoil portion 3. fhus, when the ieater is used for the generation of steam, as will presently be explained, the water entering the coil portionet at the top of the easing will, as it flows downwardly, become gradually heated; and, upon reaching the highly heated lower parts of the coil portions 4 and 3 will be flashed into steam, which will be dried as it flows through the inner coil portions 3 and 3 to the outlet pipe 6.

It frequently happens that, in water heaters of thetype contemplated by my invention, the heating coils so reduce the temperature within the casing that part of the fluid fuel is notignitedor consumed. To eliminate thisdilliculty I provide the lower portion of the coil with a plurality of radially arranged bars 7, which, as shown, may be placed between and supported by adjacent helices of the coil. These bars, which may be made of any material but are preferably of metal, quickly become heated by the burner, and when thus heated they augment the ignition of thefuel.

To the end that the heater may be caused to furnish hot water or steam when one or the other is desired, I provide means for varying the relative quantities of water and fuel supplied to the coil and burner, respectively. For this purpose 1 preferably pro vide, for the supplypipes, valves adapted to be controlled by a single operating member, and soconstructed that, when the operating member is turned or otherwise moved to one position the proper relative quantitiesof fuel and water will be supplied to generate steam, andwhen turned to another position the relative quantities of such fluids will be such as to heat the water to a desired temperature but not to flash itinto steam. Furthermore, the construction is-such that, in a third position of the valve operating member, both water and fuel supply pipes will be closed.

The valves may be of any suitable construction. Asshown herein they consist of slightly tapered plugs 8 and 9, rotatably mounted in casings 10 and 11, which are made parts, respectively, of the water supply conduit 5 and the fuel supply conduit 12. These plugs are in vertical alinement with each other and their oppositely disposed ends are attached to a stem 13 provided with an operating handle 14:. As will be seen from Figs. l and 5, the arrangement of the ports through the valve plugs is,- first, such that, when the handle 1 1 is in the intermediate position shown in the drawings, flow of water and fuel through the conduits 5 and 12 will be prevented, secondly, when the handle is turned in a clockwise direction as viewed in Eig. 3, the fuel conduit will be opened to permit a large flow of fuel, and the water conduit opened to permit a small flow of water; and thirdly, when the handle is turned in the opposite direction the fuel conduit will be opened to permit a large how of fuel, and the water conduit opened to permit a relatively greater flow of water than in said second named handle position.

Means are provided to lock or hold the operating handle in its intermediate or valve closing position, and adjustable stops are provided to control and regulate the extent of the alternate valve-opening positions of p the handle, so that the proper-relative quantities of water and fuel will be supplied for generating steam or for heating the water without thegeneration of steam. l/Vhile various instrumentalities may be used to lock the operating handle in valve-closing position, as shown herein the stem 13 is provided with laterally-projecting wings 15 and 16, to which there is hinged a latch 17, having a centrally-disposed groove 18 adapted to engage a rod 19 extending between, and connected to, the supply conduits 5 and 12. This latch is provided with lugs 20, which, when the handle 14 is engaged, may be pressed downwardly to lift the latch from engagement with the rod 19, and which furthermore are disposed beneath the wings 15 and 16 and thereby prevent the latch from falling below a substantially horizontal position. The latch is also provided with upwardly-bent wings 21, one or the other of which, when the handle is turned to one side or the other of its intermediate position, rests against the rod 19, and thus serves to keep the latch in raised position and in readiness to fall into rod-engaging position when the handle is again turned to its intermediate point.

The adjustable stops for regulating the alternate open-valve positions of the operating members 13, 14 preferably consist of set screws 22 and 23 borne, respectively, by the wings 15 and 16. These screws are in such positions that, when the handle is turned,

one or the other of them will strike against the rod 19. By varying the positions of the screws, the relative quantities of fuel and water may be regulated.

As w1ll be seen, a suitable valve-controlled conduit 24 extends from the fuel pipe 12, at

a point beyond the plug 19, to the burner 2, thus furnishing a pilot light for the burner. Furthermore, the heater also includes a grate 25, which may be used for solid fuel in the absence or failure of fluid fuel.

' I claim as my invention:

1. 1n a water heater, the combination of a casing, a burner and heating coil therein, fuel and water supply pipes connected re spectively to said burner and coil, valves for controlling the flow of fluid through such pipes, a three-position operating member for said valves effective when in one position to close both valves and when in its other positions to effect a variable relative opening of the valves, means for locking the operating member in valve-closing position, and adjustable stops for controlling said other positions of the operating member.

2. In a water heater, the combination of a casing, a burner and heating coil therein, fuel and'water supply pipes connected respectively to said burner and coil, valves for controlling flow through such pipes, a three-position operating member for said valves effective in one position to close both valves and in its other positions to cause variable relative openings thereof, a detent borne by the casing, a latch pivoted to the operating member and adapted to engage said detent at the valve-closing position of the'operating member, and adjustable stops for controlling said other positions of the operating member.

3. In a water heater, the combination of a casing, a burner and heating coil therein, fuel and water supply pipes connected respectively to said burner and coil, valves for controlling flow through such pipes, a threeposition operating'member for said valves efiective in one position to close both valves and in its other positions to cause variable relative openings thereof, said member having laterally extending wings provided at their outer ends with adjustable stops for controlling the range of movement of the operating member, and a locking latch pivotally secured to said operating member.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

FRANCIS J. ALBRECHT. lVitnesses PAUL N. CRIToHLoW, FRANCIS J. TOMASSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0. 

